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OPINION: Stella: Let’s look for and celebrate women leaders at CSU
COLLEGIAN COLUMNISTS
Let’s look for and celebrate women leaders at CSU
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE LELINE THE COLLEGIAN
By Michael Stella
@michaelstella_ Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
In 2019, Joyce McConnell was named the first woman president in Colorado State University’s more than 150-year history. Then, over last summer and after a mutual agreement with the CSU System Board of Governors, her tenure of only three years came to an end.
The decision to let McConnell go was not only a shortsighted move for the university in a number of ways, it also comes at a time when women’s voices need to be elevated.
As the Presidential Search Advisory Committee finished its search process Dec. 2, it was a positive sign that they chose another high-achieving woman as the finalist to fill the role.
It is encouraging that the search committee chose not only a woman but a woman with the background Amy Parsons has.
Parsons has experience in higher education at CSU, but more importantly, she was CEO of an international company. Something McConnell lacked was more experience in the business world.
CSU, though it may not like to admit it, is a progressive-leaning university. It is evident in most actions the university takes: the land acknowledgment, its focus on creating inclusive environments for all sexual orientations and gender identities and its focus on protecting the environment.
An area the university could focus on more, however, is its representation of women leaders.
As The Collegian celebrates Title IX protections, we cannot just celebrate this historic piece of legislation but must look for ways to actively improve upon the legacy of Title IX.
Title IX is an amendment of the Civil Rights Act and prevents discrimination based on sex.
McConnell was the most visible woman leader at the university while she was employed, but there have been and currently are incredible women leaders at CSU.
Temple Grandin is the first name that comes to mind. Grandin has taught and researched at CSU for more than 30 years. Her work in animal science is widespread and well known.
Universities — where research is conducted and students grow into their roles in society — are often catalysts of change. One aspect of Title IX was the funding requirements set in place for college athletics.
Becky Hammon, head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and CSU women’s basketball alumna, is one of the most accomplished female athletes to come out of CSU. She is the only women’s basketball player in CSU history to have her jersey number retired.
Hammon has had a successful coaching career in men’s and women’s professional basketball. She was an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs, the first full-time female coach in the NBA and the first rookie head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA title.
Whether it is women like Grandin leading the way in research, women like McConnell and now Parsons setting an example of leadership at the highest level or women like Hammon leading the way in professional sports, CSU should celebrate them all and look for every opportunity to promote women’s voices in leadership roles.
Reach Michael Stella at letters@ collegian.com.
FALL 2022 COMMEMORATIVE EDITION
GRADS!
Make sure to grab your copies of the grad guide in the Lory Student Center next week.
COLLEGIAN COLUMNISTS
Title IX is not just about sports, it includes all of us
By Callum Burke
@burke0621 Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
The discussion of Title IX, specifically within a college setting, is not uncommon. It is a topic mentioned in classrooms, lecture halls and even in passing conversations on campus among students. But seldom do those discussions lead beyond the notion of the amendment giving women equal opportunities in sports.
Although true and a pivotal role in the popularity of Title IX, equal sporting opportunities are not all there is to the amendment that a regular student should be able to comprehend.
At its core, Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. This does include sports, but beyond athletics, Title IX has provided women immense increases in educational and professional opportunities since coming into legislation in 1972.
In fact, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in 2016, 42% of women ages 25-64 “held a bachelor’s degree and higher, compared with 11% in 1970.”
Unfortunately, not many people are well versed on what exactly those prohibitions are in terms of sexual discrimination, nor do they know how to file a complaint. I am here to feed you a spoonful of some fresh knowledge for the next time Title IX is mentioned on campus or beyond.
Sexual discrimination can come in a lot of forms, so buckle up. First, it can be as simple as an establishment denying the admission of a person into an educational or training program strictly on the basis of their sex or even providing unequal educational resources to students of one sex compared to another. This is fairly easy information to grasp if you’re a remotely understanding person, but it doesn’t stop there.
Title IX also prohibits the denial of any person in need of aid or service and/or subjecting someone to separate or different rules. It is a sad realization that these ideologies weren’t common knowledge back in the day, but at least we’re showing some progress now as a society. Now, although most commonly known for its protections for women, Title
IX emphasizes the protection of all students from sexbased discrimination. What’s even more important than obtaining a somewhat knowledgeable understanding of Title IX — so you can look out for infractions in your everyday life — is knowing how to report a violation and make a claim if you feel discriminatorily violated.
It’s not as confusing as you might think. At Colorado State
University specifically, the impacted party can file a written formal complaint with the Office of Title IX Programs and Gender Equity. The form may be “filed online, via email, by postal mail or in person” at their on-campus office. After that, the hard part is completed, and what’s left is to await the procedures for the investigation to determine the claim. It is a simple procedure for what could be a monumental case — and even an eventual win.
Altogether, Title IX has been the frontrunner in prohibiting sexual discrimination within an educational setting and provided countless opportunities to those who may have otherwise never been given the chance.
As a student, it is important to have a baseline understanding of what Title IX does for you and your fellow peers. Additionally, knowing how to report a violation and not feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by the process is equally as important. Everyone deserves the same opportunity, no matter their sex, and Title IX has paved the way for that change.
Reach Callum Burke at letters@ collegian.com.
COLLEGIAN COLUMNISTS
CSU’s women’s hockey team deserves your support, not sexism
By Dylan Tusinski
@dylantusinski Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
First and foremost: Yes, Colorado State University has a Division I women’s hockey team, and they’re really good. The team is currently sitting at fourth in the standings with an 8-5-0 record to start the season. They’ve won multiple games with points in the double digits, including a 16-0 blowout against rival University of Wyoming.
Even with all their success, the team was the subject of sexist harassment that underscores a problematic culture within the hockey community.
During a game against the University of Jamestown in early November, two men showed up with signs attacking the CSU women’s ice hockey team. “NEW GOALIE STILL SUCKS,” one read in all caps. “2300/YEAR TO LOSE,” read another, alluding to the fact that hockey isn’t a recognized sport at CSU, meaning players must pay to play.
The signs were targeted at the CSU players. These grown men showed up at the women’s hockey game and targeted the team in a personal — and frankly sexist — way.
As someone who grew up playing hockey, I can tell you firsthand the sport has a real problem with sexism. It’s time we talk about it.
Hockey is a demographically unique sport. Its fanbase is whiter and more conservative than any other major sport in the United States, according to Morning Consult. Perhaps not surprisingly, hockey and the culture surrounding it are facing retribution regarding racism, homophobia and sexism. Chirping players in-game is common in hockey culture, but there’s a difference between a chirp and a slur.
While all of those are bad in their own right, hockey’s sexism problem is perhaps the most deeply rooted. More than any other sport, hockey has a massive gap between the number of men and women playing the game. USA Hockey, the sport’s governing body within the U.S., reported it had 459,458 registered male players in the 2021-22 season compared to 87,971 female players.
Those numbers alone both exacerbate and indicate a huge problem within the fabric of the game: Women, apparently, just aren’t welcome.
It’s an issue that’s been seen on both a national and international scale. Just weeks before the signs appeared at the CSU game, it was revealed that Hockey Canada, which governs the sport in Canada, had worked to cover up a sexual assault allegedly committed by its players years ago.
In the U.S., ESPN introduced Leah Hextall as the sport’s first female national play-by-play announcer. After her first season announcing, she came forward about the violent sexist harassment she endured from hockey fans.
The reports have brought hockey’s cultural problems further into the mainstream, with women hockey players coming forward to publicize and call out the toxic behavior in the sport.
Much like the scandals and harassment seen within the sport, the signs at the CSU women’s game are only symptoms of hockey’s underlying issues. Despite each of the team’s players paying large sums of money to play the game they love, the team’s stellar performance and the hardships each player has survived to play collegiate hockey, they were still attacked by a couple of men on the sidelines.
If that’s not the most perfect example of what’s wrong in hockey, I don’t know what is.
In the face of the sexism ingrained within the sport, female players need support. Especially at a school that lacks hockey culture like Colorado State University, it’s important to build a community that supports its teams through hardship. Not only does the CSU’s women’s team deserve support amid sexism, they deserve support for being a flatout good team.
The Rams will be back home for a set of rivalry games against the University of Wyoming Jan. 27 and 28, 2023, at the Edora Pool Ice Center. It seems like a perfect time to go support the team, if you ask me.
Reach Dylan Tusinski at letters@ collegian.com.
RAM RECKONING
Title IX at CSU: A look back on Impact 50
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE LELINE
THE COLLEGIAN
By Karsyn Lane
@karsynlane1
Since 1972, Title IX has guaranteed female athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in federally funded educational institutions ranging from elementary schools to higher education, like Colorado State University. Title IX is celebrating its 50th anniversary and has ultimately changed the game for student-athletes.
Discrimination based on gender is prohibited in educational programs and activities, including in athletics. It grants female student-athletes equal opportunities to effective accommodations like well-known facilities, athletic financial assistance through scholarships and the fine details of creating a strong program.
Rights to anything and everything considered necessary to run a successful athletic program are granted through Title IX. This includes equipment and supplies, game and practice schedules, travel, coaching, practice and competition facilities and support services. Although Title IX implements these standards, it is ultimately up to the university to apply them.
Since January 2022, Colorado State Athletics has welcomed the #Impact50 campaign to celebrate, support and highlight the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Over the span of a year, Colorado State emphasized the impact — both nationally and locally — through content and historical impact moments.
There were countless historical moments for Colorado State Athletics this year in its 10 NCAA programs, not including the handful of club and intramural sports offered. Let’s take a step back and reminisce on the successful year for Colorado State Athletics.
Name, image and likeness A piece of legislation adopted after years of debate rocked the college sports world July 1, 2021. The NCAA lifted limitations on collegiate athletes earning money for their name, image and likeness. This opened a whole new door of opportunities for student-athletes because it allowed them to financially profit off their personal brand — the one that has come to be supported.
As NIL was implemented,
CSU stood by its athletes, and new relationships formed throughout the Fort Collins community. Most recently, CSU announced a new partnership with Opendorse, the leading athlete marketplace and NIL technology firm founded to assist athletes’ NIL transactions.
Bohemian Foundation
In early September, Colorado State women’s athletics received a $5 million donation from the Bohemian Foundation. The athletic influence of the CSU student-athlete experience for all women’s sports was altered. The Mountain West Conference has never received a larger contribution to women’s athletics, recognizing the incredible work done for student-athletes.
The $5 million will directly increase the budget for the women’s soccer and softball facility upgrade project and finalized the second phase of the Moby Arena upgrades. This includes additional locker room facilities for volleyball, softball and soccer, as well as a locker room for teams who train away from Moby Arena (golf, tennis and track and field) to utilize.
Considering everything, Title IX has altered women’s athletics and played a special role in building the Ram program that exists today.
Reach Karsyn Lane at sports@ collegian.com.
UNFAIR PLAY
Vegas Invitational a major embarrassment to women’s basketball
By Damon Cook
@dwcook2001
Nov. 25-26, the Colorado State University women’s basketball team participated in the Las Vegas Invitational tournament at The Mirage hotel and casino. The tournament has since received major backlash from fans and athletes alike. One of the major stories to come out of the tournament was the serious injury to Auburn University’s freshman forward Kharyssa Richardson.
Richardson’s injury was a scene that left everyone in attendance rattled. After Richardson hit her head hard on the floor, she laid there and waited 45 minutes for paramedics to arrive on the scene. Emergency medical services are usually a mainstay at professional sporting events, especially big tournaments that feature multiple teams playing. While Richardson appeared to have avoided any serious injury, it could have been much worse due to the lack of response time in her receiving medical care. Richardson has yet to play again this season.
Roll-in TVs as scoreboards, carpet that looked like it was out of an ‘80s-themed arcade and folding metal chairs were what greeted some of the nation’s best talent when they arrived in Las Vegas to play in the invitational. According to several reports, the athletes and coaches were promised a setup similar to the one used by Athletes Unlimited but were instead asked to bring hand towels down from their rooms and play on a court that looked like it was set up for a middle school Amateur Athletic Union tournament. This is a tournament that included Indiana University, which was ranked No. 6 at the time.
“I don’t think they’ll get another good team to play at this tournament,” University of Connecticut legendary head coach Geno Auriemma said in a press conference after the game.
His words so far appear to be tracking, as the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic, slated to start Dec. 19, saw three major teams withdraw. These teams are Purdue University, the University of Dayton and Texas A&M University. All of the teams cited safety concerns as their reasons for withdrawing.
This isn’t the first time the NCAA has failed to ensure the comfort and safety of women’s college basketball. During the 2021 March Madness tournament, University of Oregon redshirt sophomore forward Sedona Prince went viral on TikTok for showcasing the women’s inferior weight setup in comparison to the men’s.
The events and lies that transpired at the Las Vegas Invitational are undoubtedly a major loss for women’s hoops. In the town that brought home the WNBA championship, there was a major opportunity to bring new fans to the world of basketball. It was major loss for everyone involved.
The Colorado State women’s basketball team has reportedly moved forward from the event and set their eyes on their future matchups.
Reach Damon Cook at sports@ collegian.com.
GENO AURIEMMA
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH
Senior guard McKenna Hofschild (4) passes the ball to her teammate during the Colorado State University game against the University of Montana in Moby Arena Nov. 11. Hofschild surpassed 1,000 career points during the Rams’ game against the University of Denver Dec. 6. PHOTO BY SERENA BETTIS THE COLLEGIAN
